What to watch on U.S. economy on Friday

Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker at 7:30 a.m. will explain his dissent to the Federal Reserve\’s decision to buy more Treasury securities as well as to tie the prospects of a future rate hike to unemployment dropping below 6.5%.

The consumer price index is projected to drop 0.2% in November mainly because of falling energy prices, in data that is due out of the Labor Department at 8:30 a.m. Minus the volatile categories of food and energy, so-called core prices probably rose 0.2%. Except for whipsawing energy costs, consumer prices have been relatively stable in 2012, giving the Federal Reserve room to take additional steps to try to boost the economy.

Industrial production may have gained 0.2% in November, in data that will come out of the Federal Reserve at 9:15 a.m. It\’s an important release for gauging the economic impact of Hurricane Sandy. Brett Ryan of Deutsche Bank says to look for utilities output.

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